Commonwealth Consolidated Acts Commonwealth Consolidated Acts(1) Subject to this section, the functions of the Inspector‑General in relation to ASIO are:
(a) at the request of the responsible Minister, of the Inspector‑General's own motion or in response to a complaint made to the Inspector‑General, to inquire into any matter that relates to:
(i) the compliance by ASIO with the laws of the Commonwealth and of the States and Territories; or
(ii) the compliance by ASIO with directions or guidelines given to ASIO by the responsible Minister; or
(iii) the propriety of particular activities of ASIO; or
(iv) the effectiveness and appropriateness of the procedures of ASIO relating to the legality or propriety of the activities of ASIO; or
(v) an act or practice of ASIO that is or may be inconsistent with or contrary to any human right, that constitutes or may constitute discrimination, or that is or may be unlawful under the Age Discrimination Act 2004 , the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 , the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 or the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 , being an act or practice referred to the Inspector‑General by the Australian Human Rights Commission; and
(b) at the request of the responsible Minister or of the Inspector‑General's own motion, to inquire into the procedures of ASIO relating to redress of grievances of employees of ASIO; and
(c) at the request of the responsible Minister, to inquire into the action (if any) that should be taken to protect the rights of a person who is an Australian citizen or a permanent resident in a case where:
(i) ASIO has furnished a report to a Commonwealth agency that may result in the taking of action that is adverse to the interests of the person; and
(ii) the report could not be reviewed by the Security Appeals Tribunal;
and, in particular, to inquire into whether the person should be informed of the report and given an opportunity to make submissions in relation to the report; and
(d) where the responsible Minister has given a direction to ASIO on the question whether:
(i) the collection of intelligence concerning a particular individual is, or is not, justified by reason of its relevance to security; or
(ii) the communication of intelligence concerning a particular individual would be for a purpose relevant to security;
to inquire into whether that collection is justified on that ground or whether that communication would be for that purpose, as the case may be.
(2) Subject to this section, the functions of the Inspector‑General in relation to ASIS, DIGO or DSD are:
(a) at the request of the responsible Minister, of the Inspector‑General's own motion or in response to a complaint made to the Inspector‑General by a person who is an Australian citizen or a permanent resident, to inquire into any matter that relates to:
(i) the compliance by that agency with the laws of the Commonwealth and of the States and Territories; or
(ii) the compliance by that agency with directions or guidelines given to that agency by the responsible Minister; or
(iii) the propriety of particular activities of that agency; or
(iv) an act or practice of that agency that is or may be inconsistent with or contrary to any human right, that constitutes or may constitute discrimination, or that is or may be unlawful under the Age Discrimination Act 2004 , the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 , the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 or the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 , being an act or practice referred to the Inspector‑General by the Australian Human Rights Commission; and
(b) at the request of the responsible Minister or of the Inspector‑General's own motion, to inquire into the procedures of that agency relating to redress of grievances of employees of that agency; and
(c) at the request of the responsible Minister, to inquire into the effectiveness and appropriateness of the procedures of that agency relating to the legality or propriety of the activities of that agency.
(3) Subject to this section, the functions of the Inspector‑General in relation to DIO or ONA are:
(a) at the request of the responsible Minister or of the Inspector‑General's own motion, to inquire into any matter that relates to:
(i) the compliance by that agency with the laws of the Commonwealth and of the States and Territories; or
(ii) the propriety of particular activities of that agency; or
(iii) the effectiveness and appropriateness of the procedures of that agency relating to the legality or propriety of the activities of that agency; and
(b) at the request of the responsible Minister or of the Inspector‑General's own motion, to inquire into any matter that relates to:
(i) an act or practice of that agency that is or may be inconsistent with or contrary to any human right, that constitutes or may constitute discrimination, or that is or may be unlawful under the Age Discrimination Act 2004 , the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 , the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 or the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 , being an act or practice referred to the Inspector‑General by the Australian Human Rights Commission; or
(ii) the procedures of that agency relating to redress of grievances of employees of that agency; and
(c) at the request of the responsible Minister or of the Inspector‑General's own motion, to inquire into any matter in relation to the statutory independence of ONA.
(4) The Inspector‑General shall not, of his or her own motion or in response to a complaint made to the Inspector‑General, perform any of the functions set out in paragraph (2)(a) in relation to action taken by ASIS, DIGO or DSD except to the extent that Australian citizens or permanent residents are affected or a law of the Commonwealth, a State or a Territory may be violated.
(5) The functions of the Inspector‑General under subsections (1), (2) and (3) do not include inquiring into the matters to which a complaint made to the Inspector‑General by an employee of an agency relates to the extent that those matters are directly related to the promotion, termination of appointment, discipline or remuneration of the complainant or to other matters relating to the complainant's employment.
(6) Subject to the succeeding provisions of this section, where a complaint is made to the Inspector‑General by an employee of ASIO or ASIS, being a complaint the subject of which directly relates to the promotion, termination of appointment, discipline or remuneration of the complainant or to other matters relating to the complainant's employment, the functions of the Inspector‑General include inquiring into the matters to which the complaint relates.
(7) The Inspector‑General shall not inquire into the matters to which a complaint made to the Inspector‑General by an employee of ASIO or ASIS relates to the extent that the employee was or is able to cause those matters to be reviewed by a body constituted by or including persons other than:
(a) in the case of an employee of ASIO--the Director‑General of Security or employees of ASIO; or
(b) in the case of an employee of ASIS--the Director‑General of ASIS or employees of ASIS.
(8) The Inspector‑General shall not:
(a) inquire into a matter relating to an agency that occurred outside Australia, or before the commencement of this Act, without the approval of the responsible Minister;
(b) inquire into action taken by a Minister except to the extent necessary in performing the functions of the Inspector‑General referred to in subparagraphs (1)(a)(ii) and (2)(a)(ii) and paragraph (1)(d); or
(c) inquire into a matter, other than a matter that is referred to the Inspector‑General under subsection 65(1A) of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Act 1979 , that is or could be the subject of a review by the Security Appeals Tribunal.
(9) The Inspector‑General may perform functions conferred on the Inspector‑General by another Act.
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